« I haven’t been able to devote very much time to it, » Trump tells reporters in Vietnam.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Saturday he’s been too busy with his whirlwind Asia trip to pay much attention to allegations that Senate candidate Roy Moore sexually assaulted young women decades ago, but stood by a previous White House statement that Moore will « do the right thing. »
Traveling on Air Force One between Da Nang, Vietnam, and the capital city of Hanoi, Trump twice deflected questions about the growing pressure on Moore to drop out of the Alabama Senate race.
« I’ll stick with statement for now, but I’ll have further comment as we go down the road. I have to get back into the country to see what’s happening, » he said.
That statement, delivered through press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said that Trump believes « ‘ we cannot allow a mere allegation — in this case, one from many years ago — to destroy a person’s life. » But she also said that if the allegations are true, « Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside. »
Moore is a former Alabama Supreme Court justice who defeated Trump’s preferred candidate, Sen. Luther Strange, in the Republican primary to replace former Sen. Jeff Sessions, who became Trump’s attorney general.
But Moore’s campaign was suddenly thrust into the growing national controversy over sexual misconduct after five women told the Washington Post that Moore acted inappropriately toward them in the 1970s, including sexual contact with a 14-year-old in 1979 — when he was 32-year-old prosecutor.
Speaking to Fox News on Friday, Moore gave vague denials of the allegations. “I’m not going to dispute anything, but I don’t remember anything like that,” he said. “I don’t remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother.”
Trump had shifted his support to Moore after the primary. But other prominent Republicans — including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and the National Republican Senatorial Committee — have withdrawn support.
Pressed again on the specifics of the allegations against Moore Saturday, Trump insisted that he’s preoccupied with world affairs .
« Honestly, I’d have to look at it and I’d have to see. Because, again, I’m dealing with the president of China, the president of Russia. I’m dealing with the folks over here, » he said. « I haven’t been able to devote very much time to it. »
